Is this for real?

milescity.com classifieds: HELP NEEDED: SHIPLEY YARD CLEAN UP

Yes. Robbie is 'out of town' for 90 days and the city is cleaning up the property. Big ad in tonight's paper as well.

It shouldn't be.

Please refer to my post in that thread.

Cleanup is going to be undertaken pursuant to Court order.

I would strongly caution anyone who is not acting under authority of the Court from doing anything at/on/with the property.

The cleanup efforts have been taken out of Shipley's hands, by the Court, and responsibility for cleanup has been given to the City of Miles City.

A note from Shipley giving permission to clean up his property is likely contrary to the Court's order regarding cleanup.

-Dan Rice
City Attorney

I apologize. I assumed it was a legitimate city effort. I didn't realize it was misguided. I did wonder a bit about volunteers but I thought the city was just in a hurry.

So, the clean-up is not on until the CITY takes action.

The City will not prevent this cleanup from taking place. The City will be taking the position that the cleanup is not sanctioned by the City. The written Court Order has not been issued as of today's date, and such the City does not know with specificity what the Judge will be ordering. Anyone who wishes to take part in this cleanup is doing so separate from the City.

[This message has been edited by D. Rice (7/25/2014)]

The effort is being coordinated by the Public Defender's Office and Mr. Shipley.

MotoMike and Jonna - Are you, by any chance, relatives of Mayor Grenz? If so, promoting this clean-up against a court order isn't doing him or Miles City any favors.

So, D. Rice is our outgoing city attorney and knows exactly what he's doing, in this case. City staff is now on record as being aware of this clean-up effort and has publicly cautioned against it. If the sheriff or MCPD fails to reasonably interdict on behalf of the court order and someone torches the place or is severely injured during the event, guess who writes the check for damages?

KEEP AWAY FROM THIS ILL-ADVISED PUBLIC RELATIONS STUNT!

The City was a bit blindsided by this, but will not interfere with this cleanup. I spoke with our prosecutor who does not object to the cleanup if it has been authorized by Shipley. I simply want to make it clear that the City is not involved in this cleanup. Also, the Judge has not yet issued the order in writing. The city will stay back and has washed its hands of any action taken at Shipley's house.

Also - as no order has been issued, MCPD will not take any action regarding the cleanup without prompting from the Judge or a trespass complaint by Shipley.

[This message has been edited by Union Hall (7/25/2014)]

[This message has been edited by Union Hall (7/25/2014)]

Joe,
I fully did not support it. I even went so far as to call it theft. I only said good luck after someone claimed Mr. Shipley gave permission. I assumed he was overwhelmed by the task and asked for help.

After rereading your post, Jonna, I apologize to you for my misunderstanding.

I'm not, however, reassured by the notion that Shipley reportedly consents to the clean-up or that the city prosecutor has no objection to it. Shipley has been unsuccessfully angling to exact retribution from Miles City ever since the first public nuisance judgment was handed down against him in city court. As for the city prosecutor, he doesn't advise the Miles City on risk management issues. That role properly belongs to the Montana Municipal Interlocal Authority and the short notice of this volunteer effort evidently has not yet provided them an opportunity to weigh in on the matter.

Joe,

The City does not support or authorize the cleanup in any way - but will not interfere. The Prosecutor does not have any objection which would need to be enforced by MCPD, nor do I, as we have made it explicitly clear that this cleanup is strictly between Mr. Shipley and the people who are doing the cleaning - and does not involve the City in any way. As the City is not condoning or authorizing the cleanup, any claim Shipley may have would be limited to those individuals doing the cleanup. Shipley's attorney acknowledged that Shipley had authorized individuals to do a cleanup, and it was made clear to his counsel (by me) that the City did not condone any cleanup not conducted by the City - and pointed out that the cleanup may very well be contrary to the order which will be handed down by the Court. The City is not supporting the cleanup in any way, will not be providing labor or equipment, and will not take any steps to interfere with the cleanup unless a complaint is made by the property owner for trespass.

The City is simply not a party to this transaction, strictly denies any involvement, and any action against the City which MMIA would need to defend should be disposed of by summary judgment given the above facts.

The City only had a couple of hours notice of this cleanup effort (as none of the City Staff who are involved in the Shipley matter were notified that it was being arranged, with the first notice I was aware of coming in mid afternoon through citizens contacting me to inquire whether the cleanup was City sanctioned - and I was on the road at the time). Had we been given some meaningful notice, a more prepared response would have been possible.

Again, any cleanup action taken is at the risk of those involved. This has been an ongoing matter (this particular action having taken a year) which I would prefer to have carried out in full by the City, pursuant to the Court's order. In the event partial cleanup is completed tomorrow, the City will still undertake its own cleanup in accordance with the Order.